SIB Says Inflation is Hardest Felt in Belmopan

When the CPI goes up, it means prices are rising on average, signaling inflation. If it drops, prices are falling, indicating deflation. The CPI is a handy tool for gauging the economy’s health and figuring out how much more or less money people need to keep up their standard of living. This year, Belmopan saw the biggest spike in prices for goods and services from January to October, while Punta Gorda had the smallest increase. Crespo further broke down the three-point-five percent rise across different categories, giving us a clearer picture of where these changes are happening.

 

Jaime Crespo, Statistician, S.I.B.

“Looking at the housing, water, electricity, gas, and other fuels, prices went up by 2. 3%.  This was mainly due to a 2.2 percent increase in house rental costs.  Higher prices were recorded for Belmopan, Belize, San Ignacio, Corozal, Orange Walk, and Independence. On the other hand, liquefied petroleum gas decreased by 2.4%. Now, let’s look at how monthly LPG prices have been changing over the past five years.  From 2029 to 2024, we can observe that prices have been very volatile. The average price for LPG in 2020 in 2019 was around 116 Belize dollars per hundred, and then there was a sharp decline until mid-2020.  After that, LPG prices reached its highest point in early 2022 at an amount of 150 Belize dollars per 100 pounds, and then prices have been steadily decreasing. By late 2024, prices have been normalized in levels like what was recorded in most of 2019.”